Air pirate

Air pirates (or sky pirates) are a class of stock character from science fiction and fantasy. Such characters typically operate as pirates in the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet, dwarf planet or moon, and travel by aircraft, as opposed to the more traditional pirates on the high seas, who travel by ship. However, just as traditional seafaring pirates target sailing ships, air pirates serve a similar role in science fiction and fantasy media: they capture and plunder aircraft and other targets for cargo, loot and occasionally they steal an entire aircraft, sometimes killing the crewmembers in the process.

This article is about the type of stock fictional character. For the real-world crime sometimes referred to as "air piracy", see Aircraft hijacking.
"Sky pirate" redirects here. For other uses, see Air pirate (disambiguation) and Sky pirate (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with space pirate.
Airship crew in Jules Verne's Robur the Conqueror

Their dress and speech may vary; it may correspond to the particular author's vision of the story's setting, rather than their seafaring counterparts, or they may be modeled after stereotypical sea pirates. Some air pirates are depicted using airborne aircraft carriers as mobile bases from which to conduct raids.[1][2][3]

Air pirates made early appearances in novels of the late 19th century, as well as silent films, comics and pulp magazines, and have since appeared in a variety of media, including alternate history,[4][5] steampunk,[6][7][8] and dieselpunk[9][10] works.

NamesWorkYearsType of MediaDescription
Abney ParkAirship Pirates Chronicles2011Role-playing gameThis game, based on the backstory of the band, Abney Park, is set in the post-apocalyptic world after their album, The End Of Days, a future world with a severely disrupted timeline, with the game featuring steampunk themes and Victorian-era style. Airship Pirates places players as air pirates in command of their own steam-powered airships, who seek not only to pillage the skies, but to plunder history, possibly causing even greater disruption to the past. Meanwhile, the world below struggles in Victorian-style squalor under an oppressive government that maintains control through clockwork policemen.[11] In December 2011, the RPG game won Diehard GameFAN's "Best Core Rulebook of 2011" award.[12]
Barney BaxterBarney Baxter in the Air1935-1950Comic stripBarney Baxter was an "adventure strip" involving heroic exploits centering on aviation.[13][14] Baxter was often accompanied by his sidekick Gopher Gus, who (unlike the rest of the characters) was drawn with the exaggerated facial features of a "humour strip" character.[14] Other characters were Barney's mother, his rival love interests, Patricia and Maura, and his buddy Hap Walters. [13]
BlackbeardPan2015FilmBlackbeard leads a group of pirates in this 2015 fantasy film who use flying sailing ships.[15]
Black Cat GangTail Concerto1998-1999Video gameThe Black Cat Gang in this video game are sky pirates,[16] while many other sky pirate factions appear in its sequel Solatorobo: Red the Hunter in 2011.
Kasey BoonMysticons2017-2018Animated TV seriesYounger brother of Kitty, who Emerald Goldenbraid, one of the story's protagonists, developed a crush on. He gave her a bracelet which was revealed to be a tracking device to follow the Mysticons. He later appears to have second thoughts about taking advantage of Em's feelings for him, and catches her, after which the two have a serious romance.[17] In the comics, he debuts in Volume 2.
Kitty BoonMysticons2017-2018Animated TV seriesCaptain of the Pink Skulls, female pirate, and Zarya's childhood friend.[17] She takes advantage of this relationship to incapacitate the Mysticons and obtain the Dragon Disk, which she sells to Dreadbane. She later fights alongside the Mysticons, and on a third occasion gives Zarya inspiration to thwart Necrafa's plans. She is later revealed to be Zarya's romantic love interest as confirmed by the show's creator, Sean Jara, and supported by show director Matt Ferguson.[18][19][20] In the comic books, she debuts in Volume 2.
Captain Andian ClyBoneshaker2009NovelThis 2009 novel by Cherie Priest features air pirates like captain Cly, who commands a ship called the "Naamah Darling" and he later appears in novels like Ganymede, where he loves a woman in the Seattle Underground.[21]
DolaCastle in the Sky1986Anime filmDola, a "bold, plump old lady named Dola, leads a gang of air pirates in this 1986 Japanese anime film, as they try to steal the crystal necklace of Sheeta.[22]
Captain GyrfalconExalted2001Role playing gameGyrfalcon appeared in this high fantasy role playing game.[23]
Prince James
Other "social revolutionaries"		The Raid of the Mercury1931Short storyJames committed an act of air piracy, with fellow "social revolutionaries," in this short story by A. H. Johnson.[24]
Don KarnageTaleSpin1990-1991Animated seriesKarnage leads gang of air pirates in this Disney animated series and later in Ducktales.[25] According to series creator Jymn Magon, he is a wolf,[26] but has orangish-brown fur reminiscent of a fox.
Alexandre LeRoiBatman: Master of the Future1991Graphic novelLeRoi is a sky pirate who is flamboyant and demands that he be proclaimed master of the city, or else he will burn it to the ground.[27] He leaps out the window before he can be arrested, and Tolliver insists that the fair proceed.
Miles LydeckerBlack Condor Vol 1 #21992ComicsLyndecker is another DC Comics air pirate who fought against Black Condor in the 1992 comic Black Condor Vol 1 #2.[28]
Mama Aiuto GangPorco Rosso1992Anime filmMama Aiuto Gang, among the air pirates in this anime film,[29] who also appeared in the 1989 manga Hikōtei Jidai on which the film was based.
Captain MorsThe Air Pirate and His Steerable Airship1908-1911Pulp MagazineThe German pulp magazine The Air Pirate and His Steerable Airship from 1908 to 1911, followed the adventures of Captain Mors, the "Air pirate".[30][31][32]
Captain Plunder
his Sky Pirates		Sonic the Comic1993-2002ComicPlunder and fellow sky pirates appear in this comic.[33]
Captain PhoenixJak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier2009Video gamePhoenix leads a gang of space pirates,[34] like Danger Sexy Pirate,[35] in massive ships who battle the protagonists[36][37][38][39] while having a flying airbase known as Phoenix.[40]
RoburRobur the Conqueror1886
1904		NovelHe is an inventor who kidnaps people and takes them aboard his advanced aircraft in the 1886 novel Robur the Conqueror and its 1904 sequel Master of the World (both written by Jules Verne), as well as in the 1961 film adaptation based on elements of both novels.[41][42]
Captain ShakespeareStardust2007FilmShakespeare leads aerial pirates in this fantasy film, commanding a ship called the Caspartine.[43]
Silvana crewLast Exile2003Anime seriesThe crew of the airship Silvana in the anime series Last Exile are sky pirates,[44] while sky pirates appear in the sequel series Last Exile: Fam the Silver Wing.
Baroness Troixmonde / FilibusFilibus1915Silent filmThe film's protagonist has a secret identity and is known to the world as Filibus and has an airship. Some called the film "an odd and funny forerunner of science-fiction movies,"[45] with Filibus described as a lesbian character,[46][47] and an "elegant and elusive woman pirate" who can pass between male and female identities, making her "a champion of transgenderism before that term had been coined."[48][49]
UnnamedThe Sky Police1910Short storyThis short story by John A. Heffernan features an air pirate.[50]
UnnamedPirates of 19201911Silent filmAir pirates appeared in the 1911 silent film Pirates of 1920.[51][52]
UnnamedThe Pirates of the Sky: A Tale of Modern Adventure1915NovelSky pirates appear in Stephen Gaillard's 1915 novel, The Pirates of the Sky: A Tale of Modern Adventure.[53][54]
UnnamedSky Pirates of Callisto1973NovelsThere are sky pirates in the Callisto series of novels.[55]
UnnamedThe Last of the Sky Pirates2002BooksSeveral characters in Edge Chronicles books are sky pirates. The book has been commended for the way it portrays librarians.[56] It has been reviewed by Horn Book,[57] and School Library Journal.[57]
UnnamedCrimson Skies2000-2003Game franchiseThe series is set within an alternate history of the 1930s invented by Weisman and McCoy. Within this divergent timeline, the United States has collapsed, and air travel has become the most popular mode of transportation in North America; as a result, air pirates thrive in the world of Crimson Skies. In describing the concept of Crimson Skies, Jordan Weisman stated he wanted to "take the idea of 16th century Caribbean piracy and translate into a 1930s American setting".[58]
UnnamedPirate1012012Video gamePlayers can complete quests, sail ships, befriend companions, and battle enemies in a turn-based combat system similar to that used in board games.[59]
UnnamedMandrake the Magician1934-2013Comic stipMandrake, along with the Phantom Magician in Mel Graff's The Adventures of Patsy, is regarded by comics historians as the first superhero of comics, such as comics historian Don Markstein, who writes, "Some people say Mandrake the Magician, who started in 1934, was comics' first superhero."[14][60][61][62] A story arc in the Mandrake the Magician comic strip involved a pirate airplane that would latch on to the outside of a passenger jet and then threaten to punch holes through the fuselage (with remote-controlled hammers) if the victims didn't follow orders and land at an airstrip where the pirates could loot their prey.
UnnamedThe Magnificent Kotobuki2019Anime seriesThe anime's protagonists run escorts to fend off attacks from air pirates.[63]
Vaan
Balthier		Final Fantasy1987-PresentMedia franchiseThe sky pirates of the Final Fantasy media franchise include Vaan and Balthier. For Balthier, he eventually decided to cut his ties with his father and his role as a judge, becoming a sky pirate under a new name, abandoning his old name.[64] For Vaan, he ends the game, Final Fantasy XII, as a sky pirate, traveling the world along with Penelo. He also reprises his role from Final Fantasy XII in the manga adaptation by Gin Amou.[65]
Vyse
Gilder
Enrique		Skies of Arcadia2000-2003Video gameIn this video game, Yse is a young and dashing sky pirate who is part of the Blue Rogue clan and soon become entangled in a race to find the Moon Stones that control these powerful Gigas.[66][67][68][69] Other sky pirates include Gilder and Enrique.[70]

In reality

In real-life use, the phrase "air piracy" more often refers to the hijacking and illegal seizure of an aircraft. However, there has been at least one occasion of an act of nautical-type piracy being conducted from the air. This occurred in 1917, when the civilian Norwegian schooner Royal was boarded and captured by a boarding party from the German Zeppelin L23.[71]

See also

References
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